Employers (NYSE:EIG) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Employers has been upgraded from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from a "hold" to a "sell" rating.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a missed EPS estimate of $0.48 compared to the consensus of $0.94, although revenue increased by 13.5% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds currently own 80.49% of Employers' stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Employers from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Employers presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.00.

Employers Price Performance

NYSE:EIG opened at $42.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $998.47 million, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.53. Employers has a one year low of $38.19 and a one year high of $54.44. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.21.

Employers (NYSE:EIG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.46). The company had revenue of $246.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.17 million. Employers had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 7.56%. Employers's revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Employers will post 3.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Employers

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EIG. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Employers by 133.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 635 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Employers in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Employers by 179.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,276 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Employers by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Employers by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.49% of the company's stock.

About Employers

Employers Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry primarily in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Employers and Cerity. It offers workers' compensation insurance to small businesses in low to medium hazard industries under the Employers and Cerity brands.

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